God Defend New Zealand

The story

"God Defend New Zealand" began as a poem written in the 1870s by Thomas Bracken of Dunedin, an Irish-born immigrant raised in Victoria, Australia. In 1876 The Saturday Advertiser held a competition to set it to music, judged by three prominent Melbourne musicians, with a prize of ten guineas. It was won by John Joseph Woods of Lawrence, Otago, born in Van Diemen's Land, who wrote the melody in a single sitting on the evening after he heard of the competition. The song was first performed at the Queen's Theatre on Princes Street, Dunedin, on Christmas Day 1876, and the sheet music was published in February 1878.

The Māori version was made in 1878 by Thomas Henry Smith of Auckland, a judge of the Native Land Court, at the request of Premier George Edward Grey, and printed under the title "Aotearoa" in Otago newspapers in October 1878. It is not a direct translation of the English, and the two have slightly different meanings. When the anthem was published as the national hymn in 1940, several errors entered the Māori text, among them a variant spelling of one verb that many later versions repeat; the Ministry for Culture and Heritage keeps the 1878 spelling.

In 1897 Premier Richard Seddon presented a copy of the words and music to Queen Victoria. The song grew in popularity in the early 20th century, and in 1940 the government bought its copyright and made it New Zealand's national hymn in time for the centennial celebrations. It was played at the British Empire Games from 1950, and at the Olympics for the first time in 1952, alongside the royal anthem, after Yvette Williams won the long jump. After it was played again at the Munich Olympics in 1972, a campaign began to make it the national anthem. In 1975 the new Television One opened each day's broadcasting with it, and its network controller, Bill Munro, decided on his own to close with it as well in place of the British anthem. In 1976 Garth Henry Latta of Dunedin petitioned Parliament, and on 21 November 1977, with the consent of Queen Elizabeth II, Robert Muldoon's government gazetted it as New Zealand's second national anthem, equal in status with "God Save the Queen".

In 1979 the Minister of Internal Affairs, Allan Highet, announced an official arrangement for massed singing by Maxwell Fernie, a semitone lower than Woods's original in A-flat major. For Expo 88 in Brisbane, Alan Slater made an up-tempo arrangement in both languages, sung by Annie Crummer, Peter Morgan, Dalvanius Prime and the Pātea Māori Club; TVNZ opened its broadcasts with it from 1988 to 1995. Until the 1990s usually only the first English verse was sung. Vicky Lee and Cyndi Joe sang it in both Māori and English at a rugby league test in 1992, and after Hinewehi Mohi sang only the Māori first verse at the 1999 Rugby World Cup and stirred public debate, it became the custom to sing the first verse in Māori and then in English.

Legally the two anthems have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is the one more commonly used. The 1977 guidelines advise it whenever New Zealand's national identity is to be stressed, and the royal anthem when the monarch, a member of the royal family or the governor-general is present or loyalty to the Crown is to be stressed. Some have criticised its old-fashioned wording and a melody hard to sing at the original pitch, but no widely accepted replacement has been found. In 2013 the original score and words were added to UNESCO's Memory of the World register for New Zealand; the documents are kept at the Auckland Central City Library.

What it says

A prayer to God to guard New Zealand and its people. The mood is solemn and hymn-like, each verse closing on the plea of the title. The Māori version follows the same prayer in its own words rather than as a translation.

The words